A Few Great Political Documentaries
My wife and I love good documentaries, and 'tis the election season. We've watched a few great movies that I wanted to pass along just in case you're in the mood for a good documentary one of these days.
Free for All
This movie is an independent film that was released this year, I believe. The best part is that there's a few great options for watching. If you're cheap, you can watch the entire thing on the website for free. If you have a way to put an unprotected mp4 onto your TV, you can download it for $4.95. If you want a DVD, you can get one for $19.95.
This movie is about what happened in 2000 and 2004 with voter suppressions and other election irregularities. I found the tone and narration to be funny and entertaining, while still being very serious about the problem.
Hacking Democracy
This movie is an HBO film about the insecurity behind some of the most popular voting machines in America, the dishonesty of that company, and the election officials who struck deals with that company. Of course, you all know them as Diebold, but they have since renamed themselves to Premiere Election Systems. Just recently, Diebold admitted that there were programming flaws in the machines in Ohio in 2004. Even worse, they claim it can't be fixed before the November 4 elections this year.
Additionally, the state of Ohio is suing Diebold over the flaws in their systems.
Even though action is being taken, this movie is a great documentary covering how a group of people worked hard to uncover the truth behind the Florida and Ohio elections.
If you want to watch it in browser, Google Video currently has it, although I don't know if that will continue to work.
Uncounted
This movie I haven't watched yet, as I just found it while searching for a few links for this post. However, the trailer looks good. If you've seen it, feel free to weigh in on it below in the comments.
Video the Vote
Even if you're not interested in watching a documentary, the best thing I learned from Free for All is about the organization Video the Vote. The idea is to organize citizens into one large video camera to monitor nearly every polling place for irregularities -- voters being turned away for "improper documentation" or "not being registered" despite having a registration card. It's definitely a program to check out.
Discuss | Posted on Saturday, August 30, 2008, in politics
Biden a good choice?
So as everyone knows by now, Joe Biden was chosen as Barack Obama's running mate. I did a little hunting through YouTube, and picked a few clips out:
Joe Biden on Iraq
Joe Biden on Berevity
Joe Biden on Guiliani
Joe is Right
My Take
I believe that the above videos show that Joe is a great speaker, knows his stuff, and will be a good asset to Obama for this election. It's nice to have Obama paired up with someone who you has a lot of experience.
Compared to McCain, Obama is a clear pick to me. To me the most important issues for us today are the economy and the war. The war directly influences the economy, in that it's one of our greatest expenses.
McCain would have you believe that the only course of action for the US to take is to stay the course, for up to 100 years. We might even want to bomb, bomb, bomb Iran. He blasts Obama for not having foreign policy experience.
Yet, what has happened? Obama has pushed for timetables for a long time. All the republicans kept disagreeing, including McCain. Yet, a few days ago Secretary Rice agreed upon timetables for withdrawal. Obama has been stressing how we must get back into Afghanistan before it's just as bad as Iraq, and has been suggesting 12,000 troops. A little over a week ago, the Pentagon decided to send 12,000 additional troops.
On the economy, McCain admits the economy isn't his strong spot. His own top economic advisor called us a "nation of whiners". McCain doesn't even know how many houses he owns. He critized Obama's suggestion that properly inflating tires and maintaining your vehicle would save the US nearly as much oil in the short term that offshore drilling would deliver in 12 years. He even started selling $25 tire guages labelled, "Obama's Energy Plan." However, Obama's statement is backed up by the Bush administration's highway department, as well as many other independent groups. The next day, McCain went back on the record saying he didn't disagree with Obama's statement.
Clearly, McCain is disconnected from reality when it comes to foreign policy and the economy.
Living in the heart of Texas and attending an "evangelical" small-town church, I shudder at the logic of politics. Of course, one must always tread lightly, but I had an opportunity to discuss politics with someone who shared interest in a common candidate: Ron Paul. However, what shocked me was that now that Ron Paul is out, he was "most likely" going to vote for McCain. We discussed it a bit, and the true concern came out: he was worried about Obama secretly being a muslim. I did my best to dispel that rumor.
I'm hopeful that Obama will be elected. Do I think he's the epitome of my beliefs in government? No, far from it, I'm much closer to Ron Paul. Given that Texas is not a close state at all (currently 96% McCain), I have the joy of being able to vote for my heart, and not the lesser of two "evils." On the other hand, I wish I was in a swing state in which I could attempt to make a difference.
Sorry for the rant, had to get this out and in writing. Now, back to our normally scheduled geek stuff.
